Aztec gold stolen by Cortés discovered while building a bar in Mexico City

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

While building a bar in Mexico City, workers stumbled upon an amazing treasure. At a depth of five meters, in the center of the city, they found a huge gold bar. The fact is that under the capital of Mexico is buried the capital of the powerful Aztec empire - the majestic city of Tenochtitlan. There are real legends about the untold fabulous treasures of the Aztecs. How did such a brilliant empire fall and what treasures are still hidden under Mexico City?

It happened in 1981. The builders accidentally discovered a two-kilogram gold bar. At that time, it was impossible to determine the exact age of the precious metal. Since then, chemical science has made great strides forward. Just two weeks ago, the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (NIAH) announced that it was finally able to thoroughly test gold and determine its origin.

According to scientists, gold by age refers to 1519 or 1520. This time corresponds to the moment when Cortez fled from Tenochtitlan with his warriors. Conquistadors stole jewelry, adornments, golden idols and melted gold into ingots. It was by taking these treasures that they fled then, hoping to return to Europe as rich people. There is a legend about Cortez's treasure. Recent research by scientists has provided experts with convincing evidence that everything described in the story of Cortez is true.

It should be noted here that the amazingly organized Aztec society did not immediately become such a rich and powerful empire. In the beginning, as the Aztec chronicles describe, they were peaceful hunters and farmers. They lived in an area called Aztlan. From this name the very word "Aztecs" came from, as foreigners called them. They themselves called themselves - "Meshiki". From this word came the name of modern Mexico. Not a very favorable time has come - the climate has changed, droughts have begun. This was followed by a series of crop failures and famine. The Aztecs began to abandon their homes and look for a better life in the south. The Toltec tribe lived there. It was a fairly developed and wealthy empire. But, as often happens, the country was torn apart by civil strife. The Aztecs were somehow not everywhere to the court.

There was nowhere to settle, and the Aztecs began to trade by hiring them for military service to the local rulers. For several decades, the Aztecs have been perfecting their martial arts. Such a life turned the former peasants into strong and cruel warriors. One of the rulers gave them land to live in. So the Aztecs settled on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, which was not a very hospitable place. Not only was it small in size and overgrown with thorns, it was also teeming with snakes. This did not bother the tribe a bit - they gladly ate snakes. And the Aztecs managed to turn other disadvantages into advantages. Not much time has passed and a primitive, at first glance, civilization turned this area into a real paradise.

The soil on the island was swampy and the Meshiks reinforced their homes with wooden piles to keep them from sinking into the soil. Arable land was sorely lacking. The Aztecs created floating islands on which they managed to grow seven crops a year. They built a simply amazing water supply system: fresh water always came from the tops of the mountains through stone canals. These incredible people built a sixteen-kilometer dam, which protected the city from floods. The Aztecs built excellent roads. They also came up with a unique notification system. Without transport, they delivered mail at a speed that no one dreamed of at that time. And all this splendor was created by people, whose main tools were tools made of bone and stone.

The Aztecs were not unique among other advanced civilizations in the development of science, but they certainly stood out among them. They had a very exotic ideology, even for wild tribes, whose roots were rooted in the religion of the Aztecs. They believed that the world was ruled by gods who feed on human sacrifice. If the gods are not fed, the universe will perish. It's simple: to save the world, you need to make sacrifices to the gods. The bigger, the better. Traditionally, the Aztecs sacrificed to their gods, defeated in battle and captured, foreigners. By the dictates of fate, who became professional mercenaries, the Aztecs most of all appreciated military skill. Each boy was brought up from childhood as a warrior. The top of the martial art was considered not to kill the enemy, but to capture him alive. Because it could be sacrificed to the bloodthirsty Aztec gods. The young man officially became a man only when he brought his first prisoner. When a warrior brought two prisoners, he acquired the right to wear special clothes. When the number of captured opponents reached four, the man was allowed to adorn himself with either a jaguar skin or eagle feathers. Such warriors already belonged to the upper class, could enjoy various privileges, they were given their own land and high office.

Metallurgy in the state of the Aztecs was not developed, they used stone and bones for the production of weapons and various tools. The bags have mastered the technology of using these materials to perfection. Common warriors had a wooden mace and spears with obsidian tips. Warriors of higher rank were equipped with cotton armor to protect them from arrows and a shield made of wood. The weapon of the Aztecs was bone or wooden darts, a spear. The most important weapon was a wooden sword, equipped on both sides with blade-sharp obsidian inserts. With a blow of the sword, according to the Spaniards, the Aztecs could easily chop off a horse's head.

In addition to their amazing military skill, the Aztecs became famous for human sacrifice. In this they were as bloodthirsty as inventive. Of course, in the entire history of mankind, very many tribes made human sacrifices, and even cannibalism also very few people can be surprised. But only the Aztecs became famous for the fact that ritual human sacrifices became the basis of their statehood, their sacred imperial ideology. The scale also deserves special attention. In the surviving historical records, the Meshiks themselves indicate that 84 thousand people were sacrificed only during the consecration of their newly built temple! The methods were also very interesting. When the emperor ascended the throne, he first made a military sortie, captured prisoners. After sacrificing these unfortunates, the newly-made emperor washed his feet in their blood. This was a kind of inauguration procedure for the Aztecs.

Each holiday had its own specific sacrifices, which were brought in a special way. To please one god, it was necessary to rip out the heart of a living person and put it, still beating, on the altar. To satisfy the other, it was required to give the victim a drug potion to drink, then the person was thrown into the fire. After that, the skin was removed from the slightly fried victim, the priests put it on themselves and danced ritual dances in this way. The warriors had their own entertainment - a huge, heavy stone was tied to the prisoner's leg, handed a spear, where instead of a tip there were bird feathers and attacked him in a crowd. Once a funny incident occurred with this ritual: the leader of a neighboring tribe managed to kill two dozen Aztecs. They were so impressed by the strength and valor of the warrior that they released him with honors.

The strangest way of making a sacrifice among the Aztecs was this: the tribe chose the strongest and most handsome young man. To select such a sacrifice, the Aztec priests had a special list of required qualities. For a whole year, the young man was fed the best and most exquisite dishes. He lived in a luxurious house with servants, the most beautiful aristocratic women were given to him as wives. Wherever this young man went, people fell on their faces before him. He was treated like a god. At the end of the year, this young man, along with all the wives and offspring, was sacrificed. The priests received communion with his flesh. The feet and hands of the executed were thrown down from the pyramid for the rest of the people. These Aztecs were very nice people. What are their walls made of human skulls. The Meshiks so intimidated all the surrounding tribes that they were just waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on them. Such an opportunity soon presented itself to them. The European adventurer Hernando Cortez, inspired by the stories of Columbus's expeditions, gathered a squadron of ships and set off in search of happiness. Admiral Cortez participated in the conquest of Cuba. He made a very solid fortune and could live comfortably in luxury until the end of his days. But greed and thirst for adventure drove Cortez on a new expedition.

Hernando heard about the Aztec Empire of the fabulously rich in gold. Without thinking twice, he equipped ships and went there. At first, the Aztecs greeted Cortés and the other Spaniards very graciously. They were given rich gifts and were treated with great respect. They also lost their heads so much from the innumerable treasures surrounding them that they became simply impudent. The conquistadors shamelessly plundered the population, and in the end, the offended and furious Aztecs revolted and drove out the Spaniards. Those, fleeing, tried to take more gold with them. According to legend, Cortez hid a treasure of gold bars during his escape. It is to this hoard that an ingot, discovered in 1981 in Mexico City, may be related. A year later, Cortez returned to Tenochtitlan, enlisting the support of various local tribes, who wanted to get rid of the cruel yoke of the Aztecs. The naive Indians imagined that the Europeans would bring them deliverance, but it turned out that the Spaniards destroyed most of the local population. Spain turned the locals into disenfranchised slaves. Many died from diseases brought by foreigners, from which the Indians did not have immunity. A large number of people were tortured by the Spanish Inquisition. In 1520, the Spaniards, led by Cortes, killed the last great Aztec emperor, Montezuma II. The beautiful civilization of the Aztecs has come to an end.

Leading archaeologist at the NIAH, Leonardo Lopez Lujan, says: "The gold bar is a unique historical record of a transcendental moment in world history." He added that until now, experts could only rely on ancient texts and other documents to learn details about the last days of the great Aztec empire. Archaeological work under the city continues. Indeed, according to experts, under modern Mexico City is not only a lot of gold and priceless historical artifacts. There are ruins of temples, majestic sacred Aztec pyramids and other historically valuable structures. Back in 1978, municipal workers discovered the Great Temple of the Aztecs. Work on archaeological excavations did not slow down, historians, with the help of modern science, are learning more and more about the secrets of the Aztec empire every day. About how, despite all the great deep scientific knowledge, countless riches, enormous resources - the empire of the Meshiks fell.

Without a doubt, this latest research into the gold bar and its connection to Cortez is just the beginning. Great discoveries and great finds are yet to come. For more interesting details about the Aztec religion, read our article. what gods did the Aztecs pray to and who taught people to love.